Steve Browne, SPHR is the Director of Human Resources at LaRosa’s my favorite pizzeria in Cincinnati, Ohio. Besides residing over the human resources department of the world’s greatest pizza place, he leads the HR Net. That’s how I met Steve Browne several years back. HR Net is not just a great way to network, it is a place where profound knowledge sharing takes place. Steve’s jovial personality, dazzling facilitation style, and tremendous intelligence makes him a true thought leader in my home town. Perhaps, it is for this reason that Steve Boese, and Shauna Moerke of the blogtalkradio show HRHappyHour deemed him the HR Mayor of Cincinnati (which is even better than being deemed the silly mayor of some loser restaurant on foursquare). There’s a culture that exists on HRHappyHour that includes a lot of buzz about area code #513 both positive, and jokingly negative. We did win the title Best HR City, in part because of Steve Browne’s contribution to the conversation. Steve Browne is one of the reasons area code#513 Rocks. Browne, is now getting a lot of much deserved accolades and buzz on twitter, facebook, and on other people’s blogs. He’s a genius, and I like and admire him so much. He helped me when I was in transition, and he’s helped countless others. It is in the spirit of gratitude, dignity, integrity and honor, I present to you: Steve Browne:
HR is not a Sentence of Solitary Confinement !!
It’s funny, but when you come across a person who is in HR at a Conference or gathering you usually hear something like this . . .
"Hi, I’m Steve."
"Hi Steve!!"
". . . and I’m in HR." (insert collective groan of sympathy!!)
It’s like our profession is in a 12-step program and not a dynamic and challenging field !! How sad is that?
One of the reasons for this is that too many HR people are alone. Literally. The majority of American companies have HR staffs of 1 to 2 people that are taking on a mountain of issues ranging from Employee Relations to Compensation to Paralegal Compliance! They are typically asked to focus on "critical" items like planning the Company Picnic while also handling supervisors who choose to treat people like property instead of valuing them as talent.
And what do these HR folks do to combat this isolation? Nothing.
I continue to be amazed at the number of HR professionals who refuse to network with others in HR and in business in general. The only time many people really try to "network" is when they are either in transition or trying to get something for their own agenda. Once their needs are met, they jump back into solitary.
Or, they dip their toes in social media and join Linked In and gather their 10 closest friends, join Twitter and then complain about how they don’t "get it", or join Facebook and then bicker about employees who waste time using the forum.
Yuck !! This has to change . . . NOW !!
HR can never be expected to lead if they aren’t willing to model the behavior they expect. I was challenged with this years ago and didn’t see the value. I thought networking met exchanging business cards and then listening to vendors I was never going to use !! I was wrong and naive.
Because of having a network, HR has come alive for me and for those who are connected to me. There are many HR professionals I’ve only "met" electronically. I hope to meet them someday in person, but even so, it’s great to know that they are trying to push the boundaries of our profession. I WANT to be connected to those folks !!
Now, I literally have thousands of HR people I know and connect with on a regular basis. This isn’t a collection either. It’s a vibrant, colorful collection of people who are doing amazing things !! They have allowed me to be a better professional and I hope they feel the same having me join their network.
So, you can continue to read posts like this and lurk in your cell – clanging your cup across the bars and yelling for the guard to come let you out. Or, you can break free, get out into the world and surround yourself with great people . . . who are just like you !!!
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Well said Steve! You bring up a good point about many HR pros often being in 1 or 2 person departments, so the tendency to isolate and be isolated is there. I’m excited to see more people finding ways to engage and build relationships outside their company and current circle of friends. Thanks for all that you do to encourage others to do this!
Jennifer – Thanks for the comment. I agree that the group of people becoming more engaged is growing !! I hope to see it keep trending that way !!
The greatest thing that HR people can do is to connect! Best practice share as well as invite opinions and approaches to help their own jobs be made easier. Some of the biggest departments and companies in HR, I rarely see. All should take on this mentality.
Woo haa Steve
I agree with the hypothesis that HR is not solitary confinement. It’s also the first time I ever heard someone even suggest it could be. I think there are bad fits in HR like every profession and it makes for unhappy people.
If I went to a conference and found someone apologizing for being in the profession like a 12 step introduction I would simply feel sorry for them that they made such a bad choice in life and wonder why they felt the need to be a phantom martyr and not do something more meaningful to them. I might ask them if they have a company EAP they could call for counseling.
For 100 years, from the time of the first official personnel offices inside B.F. Goodrich to the turn of the current century, HR didn’t have this polemic call to network that didn’t exist. It brought management and labor unions together and fulfilled its function just fine without social media and this new form of what I call “hyper-networking”. We went to conferences and read magazines and journals and picked the phone up to speak with peers in other places – if we thought we needed to. We were self sufficient and if we didn’t perform we were replaced. I don’t call it working alone any more than I do the 2 accountants or 1 engineer or any other specialty position residing in all mid and large sized companies.
HR worked in those companies to address the challenges assigned and it continues to work in companies today who ban social media. I know many people who work in companies where it isn’t allowed and they may or may not be members of SHRM or other personnel/professional associations where they get in 2 hours of networking a month. Though we may not want to believe it there are even people who don’t want anything to do with it and consider it a “total time waster”.
The truth is, though I have incorporated the use of social networking into my job – it was my choice and is 100% optional. It wasn’t in my job description when I accepted the position and isn’t integral to the core function of my position. I also feel that is the truth for most people in HR.
I believe people make the choice to isolate themselves or to be social and we shouldn’t be out to try to save them from themselves in either case. Though I’m happy to help educate those interested, I don’t believe in trying to convert people.
Your deep and thoughtful analyisis is right on target, Karla. All too often HR managers/assistants/and directors in small operations engage in isolationist behaviors. Unfortunately, fear is a powerful emotion. Fear often leads to CYA behavior, which can lead to Ostrich like denial. People are afraid of losing their jobs. Particularly after the recession of 2009. Steve makes several compelling points: get out of the silo. Quit acting like you are in solitary confinement. I’ve heard speak eloquently on this topic. His point is clear. We cannot exist in a vacuume, nature abhors it.
I too would feel very sorry if I saw someone apologizing for being in our profession. I might even be as bold to suggest they do what the great Campbell used to say, “Follow your bliss.” If we don’t work from our passion, from that which brings us a modicum of satisfaction, we will be doomed to the world of isolation, or worse, failure. I’ve seen this time and time again. Fearful people keep their cards close to their chest. They don’t network. In trying to keep information in (which they erroneously mistake as power) they don’t allow new, better and more helpful information to come in-thus the silo affect. HR pros become prey to silo mentality when they are afraid. So, in my opinion, I agree with you entirely, and the only thing I would add is that fear is the great motivator toward solitary confinement. Thank you for visiting my blog.
Ben, I agree the best thing we can do is to connect. Sharing best demonstrated practices, bench marking to improve our processes and practices is what makes us stronger. I only grow when I engage in civil debate, exchange, and the sharing of information. It is how we grow as individuals and professionals. Ben, I value you as a comrade on twitter. Thank you for stoping by to read Steve’s post.
Jennifer: you are my role model in so many ways. I love the way you write, and I’m fascinated with how you think. You are a generous and kind professional. Your impact on my professional development has been so positive. You make a very good point. It’s a struggle when you are a 1 or 2 person HR Department. That makes an even stronger case for getting out from behind your desk. I remember years ago there was a popular management technique called, “Managing by wandering around.” By encouraging our managers and supervisors to get out from behind their desks, empirically observe what is going on around them, then and only then, can the make a meaningful and lasting impact. Jennifer, I am a grateful you stopped by to read Steve’s amazing post.
I’m an HR and this posting is great.
Sometimes HR do stay only behind their desk. This had made the initiatives they launched sometimes irrelevant to business’ & employees’needs. That’s why I sometimes hang out, have lunch or coffee with employees or managers from other department.
However, I’ve got minimum opportunity to network in real world with other HR colleagues. With this social media and web 2.0, I found my new passion in learning HR from others.
Thanks a lot for sharing HOUR insight, Margo & Steve. I’m monitoring your tweets from Indonesia.
Karla -
I really appreciate your comment on my post. I too believe that people choose to be either social or isolated.
What I have found though, is that everyone needs to be connected at some level. It may be only a few key people, but at least they’re connected. My hope is that people don’t feel they’re on their own.
When HR people get connected, it’s amazing to see the energy and the comraderie !!
Thanks for being so thoughtful. Your approach gives me more to think about.
What a beautiful thing to be noticed by someone from Indonesia. Thank you for reading my blog. My guest writer, Steve Browne appreciates your comments as well. Let’s stay connected.
good employee relations is very important for the success of the company and any business*,~
employee relations is very very important in the business setting.’.: